Farmers baffled over TasWater decision to remove weir from Dora Creek at Judbury

Local farmers are baffled as to why TasWater is removing a weir from Dora Creek at Judbury, saying that it is a waste of money and there’s no reason to get rid of it.

Mark O’May said that the water system had been in place for more than 100 years.

“It’s an excuse to waste money in my view,” Mr O’May said.

“It’s only a weir that is a metre high and is not doing any harm. 

The first we knew about it was when an excavator turned up there to pull it down.”

It was originally part of a scheme built by farmers before it was sold to the local council and then taken over by TasWater.

Mr Omay said he and a neighbouring farmer offered to buy the water system but that it did not progress.

“We would still prefer to be purchasing the scheme in its entirety and using it for its intended purpose, which is farming.

“It’s hard trying to slog out a living on the farm these days, so anything that helps us is certainly more than advantageous.

“But the fact that things like this happen to make it more difficult for us than it needs to be only makes things more complicated.” Mr O’May wanted to see the weir left alone.

“The fundamentals of destroying a piece of infrastructure that’s not creating any problem and that’s never going to be a danger to the community are mind boggling.”

“Why would you want to destroy something that would cost you many hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace?”

Mr O’May is also concerned about disturbing platypus and potentially other species living in the creek.

TasWater Sustainable Infrastructure Services general manager Matthew Derbyshire said the weir was no longer required for operational purposes and that the Tasmanian Fire Service has confirmed the asset is not required to support its operations.

“Additionally, TasWater has an agreement in place through the Huon Valley Water Scheme, which covers the water supply to the townships of Huonville, Cygnet and Geeveston and ensures that water quality meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines,” Mr Derbyshire said.

“The Deed requires TasWater to decommission up to five smaller rivulet supplies and return one gigalitre of water to local creeks and rivers.

“The removal of the Dora Creek weir supports our commitment to returning water to the local waterways.”

Mr Derbyshire said the weir was chosen for decommissioning because of its accessibility, which reduced environmental and financial impacts compared to other weirs assessed.

“Costs to decommission are considerably less than the cost to upgrade the weir to the required conditions to consider divestment.

“Decommissioning will see the watercourse returned to its natural state, and Dora Creek will see an increase in downstream flows.

“Environmental assessments have been undertaken to ensure works are carried out safely with minimal impacts to the environment.”